For those looking to stock their wine cellar in the $40-$80 per bottle range, will notice that many of the budget-friendly wines I recommended also produce premium wines in this category. At this level, wines have greater aging potential, usually at least three to five years, and sometimes longer depending on the producer. Broaden your search to include California, where wines have increased in price dramatically over the past ten years, even though that’s softening somewhat with the currency exchange. The Sunshine State offers great wines in this range, particularly chardonnays and cabernets from Arrowood, Sterling, Frog’s Leap, Kenwood and […]
Wine Cellar: Dream Bottles of a Lifetime
When price isn’t a concern, go for the heavy-hitters that start at one to two hundred dollars per bottle and go up to thousands of dollars per bottle, especially for mature vintages bought at auction. The challenge in this range is finding the wines since many are on limited allocations, and have people on waiting lists to buy them. Almost all of these require aging to taste their best – at least five years, and some up to ten to fifteen years, or longer. Start with California cult cabernets, such as Screaming Eagle, Harlan Estate, Grace Family, Pahlmeyer, Cain Five, […]
How to Build a Custom Wine Cellar: Calm, Cool and Collected
$5,000 – $50,000+ CUSTOM WINE CELLAR As their collection continues to grow past wine racks and wine fridges, some wine drinkers retro-fit their existing basements to make them ideal for wine storage, rather than rely on natural conditions. Since renovating your basement, or building a custom cellar, can involve several trades — electrical work, insulation, carpentry, lighting, engineering, masonry and interior design — it’s advisable to hire an experienced contractor or a cellar consultant. First, analyze your existing basement conditions to identify humidity levels and hot and cold spots, in relation to the ideal range. This will tell you what […]
Wine Fridge as a Wine Cellar: Great Option for Tight Spaces
$2,000 – $10,000 WINE FRIDGES As your wine collection grows, you can keep adding more wine racks; or you can consider buying a wine fridge, an off-the-rack option that suits anyone who has limited space, such condo and small-home dwellers. These fridges are humidity and temperature-controlled for wine. The kitchen fridge is too cold and isn’t humid enough to keep wine long term, wine fridges are specially temperature- and humidity-controlled for wine. Keeping wine in your kitchen fridge for a few days is fine though. Wine fridges come in half, full and double sizes, as well as walk-in Brinks-style vaults. […]
How to Cellar Wine: Temperature, Humidity, Light Conditions
You don’t have to be a rocket scientist understand the basics of wine storage: temperature, humidity and light conditions for wine cellars. Temperature The proper storage temperature of 10 to 15oC enables wine to age slowly to its full complexity. Excess heat cooks off its finer characteristics, while too much chill retards its maturation. Humidity Humidity should also be stable, at about 70 percent, so that corks don’t dry out. When dry, corks shrink slightly, allowing air into the bottles that oxidizes the wine. This is also why bottles are stored on their sides: the wine keeps the cork wet, […]
How to Start a Wine Cellar: Wine Racks for Reality Budgets
You don’t have to live over a limestone cave, or have the budget of an eighteenth-century aristocrat, to cellar wine. Of course, higher-end options exist including wine fridges and custom-built wine cellars. However, you can start as simply as you like, with one wine rack purchased at a home furniture store, and add more as your collection grows. Here are tips on which wines to stock in your cellar. $200 – $5,000 WINE RACKS Set up racks in a cool, dark area of the house, such as the basement, cold storage room or closet that have the best conditions for […]
10 Best Garnacha Wines to Buy Now + 5 Surprising Facts about Garnacha
Garnacha, as it’s known in Spain, is more commonly as Grenache in the rest of the world, and is one of the most widely planted wine grape varieties on the planet. Garnacha is also responsible for some of the most delicious and some of the most expensive wines in the world. The most exalted wine region in France for Garnacha is the Chateauneuf-du-Pape district in the southern Rhone Valley. About 80% of the Chateauneuf-du-Pape blend is Garnacha. You’ll find my most recent Garnacha reviews and ratings here. 5 Surprising Facts about Garnacha: 1. Garnacha’s origins go back to Spain in […]
10 Best Cava Wines to Buy Now + 5 Surprising Facts about Cava
Cava is the name for sparkling wine made in Spain, think of it as the Champagne of Spain, just remember to call it Cava since Champagne may only be used in reference to the sparkling wines from the French region of Champagne. Spain has adopted similar regulations to Champagne, as Cava may only be used to name a wine if it was made using the traditional Méthode Champenoise. You’ll find my most top 10 Cava reviews and ratings here. 5 Surprising Facts about Cava: 1. Most Cava comes from the region of Catalunya where Barcelona is located, in particular the […]
Wine Cellars: Ideal Storage Conditions
“Wine likes to grow up slowly in dark, cool conditions,” says Natalie MacLean, author of Red, White, and Drunk All Over: A Wine Soaked Journey from Grape to Glass. If it’s too hot, the wine will age too quickly. It’s the difference between cooking your dinner in the microwave versus slow-roasting it.” The ideal temperature for storing wine is 55 degrees Fahrenheit, with a humidity level around 75 percent. The cool temperature helps the wine mature at a slow, steady rate, maintaining optimal taste during the storage period. Since most fine wines are plugged with natural cork, and not topped […]
10 Best Primitivo Wines to Buy Now + 5 Surprising Facts about Primitivo
Primitivo is an Italian red grape that many wine drinkers recognize by its American counterpart Zinfandel, although the grape’s true origin is Croatia, where the grape is known as Crljenak Kaštelanski. Some have taken to calling Primitivo ZPC to include all three grape names as an acronym, even though it doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue the way the wine does. You’ll find my Top 10 Primitivo reviews and ratings here. 5 Surprising Facts about Primitivo: 1. Primitivo has been grown in the heel of Italy, Puglia, since the 18th century, where it is now roughly the twelfth most planted grape […]
